DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa will form a new nuclear energy task force as the state’s only nuclear power plant moves toward restarting. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed an executive order on Monday to establish the Iowa Nuclear Energy Task Force. She said it will help advise state leaders on the development and advancement of nuclear power in Iowa. The order comes just as NextEra Energy is moving through the process to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Palo, the only nuclear power plant in Iowa. That is not expected to resume full operations until 2030. Linn County’s Board of Supervisors is in the midst of zoning regulations for the project. The order describes the task force goals, including assessing current nuclear technology in Iowa, evaluating opportunities for economic growth using nuclear power and engaging with the federal government and industry leaders in developing the nuclear energy sector. The executive order requires the task force to submit its final report detailing its findings and recommendations to the governor within 180 days of the order’s issuance. The Governor tapped Dr. Mark Nutt, an Iowa State University graduate, to lead the task force. He is the director of Nuclear Energy Programs at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The other members will represent utilities, power production companies, local government, academia, the Iowa Utilities Commission, and the General Assembly.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Department of Education says nearly 99% of full-time teaching positions in the state are filled for the current school year, well below the national vacancy rate for educators. The data released Monday shows open teaching positions across the state represent only 1.12% of the state’s full-time teaching workforce for the school year. That’s compared to a national rate of 3% open positions, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow pointed to efforts to build the teaching workforce, including increasing teacher pay in 2024, with helping to fill open positions. The rate is also a 34% drop from the previous two years, each of which showed teacher openings at more than 2% of staffing levels. Half of the districts in the state reported no openings for full-time teachers. Consistent with national teacher pipeline needs, special education positions continue to have the highest number of vacancies, at 184. Music education with a music endorsement came in next with 35 vacancies. Mathematics and science positions followed at 28 vacancies each.
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – Governor Kim Reynolds announced Monday that Iowa is joining a federal education tax credit program outlined in the reconciliation law signed last July 4. The program provides a tax credit match for people who contribute to approved scholarship granting organizations. Donors can contribute up to $1,700 and receive that amount back as a federal tax credit. Scholarship organizations receiving the donations are required to use the money for scholarships benefiting kindergarten through 12th grade students. Reynolds said the program will complement Iowa’s existing education programs. To qualify for this scholarship, a student’s family income must not exceed 300% of their area median income. The program will take effect starting in 2027.
TOLEDO, Iowa (KCRG) – The Toledo Police Department says they’ve arrested a man with warrants related to violent crimes after finding him unresponsive in a hotel. Police responded Sunday afternoon to a Toledo hotel in search of a man believed to be armed and dangerous with a female in the room with him. Officers were unable to make initial contact with the man in his hotel room. Additional agencies were called to the incident as precaution. After securing a search warrant, police say they evacuated the hotel and entered his room. The man, 45-year-old Joshua Gustafson from Pleasant Hill, was found unresponsive in the room. Police say he was suffering from an intentional overdose and gave him NARCAN, which ultimately saved his life. KCCI previously reported that Gustafson was wanted by Des Moines police for a robbery in October. He was taken to the Polk County Jail without incident. The woman found in the room with him was unharmed. Police said there is no ongoing threat to the community.
